The guesthouse called "Obala" had no room with a sea view. The third room's window faced a garage and one stubborn walnut tree. Yet a new review praised the seaside sunset from its balcony. Marta, the receptionist, sent a screenshot to the owner, Elma, asking simply whether someone had confused their guesthouse with another. Elma read the author's name and recognized her own mother's surname.
Her mother had never stayed at the guesthouse. She said her pillow at home was better. Elma then examined the other compliments and found Marta's name, the delivery driver's name, and an invented married couple whose photograph she had previously seen in a mattress advertisement. A month earlier, her partner, Goran, had taken over promotion. He said they finally needed to explain how hard they worked. Bookings increased, and she thanked him for each new call.
Goran first claimed an agency was doing it. When Elma requested the contract, he admitted managing the accounts himself. Real guests rarely wrote, he said, so he had merely provided an initial push. Elma showed him the sentence about an elevator they didn't have. "This isn't a push. Someone will book a room they can't reach because of this." Goran fell silent, seeing the review as a promise rather than decoration for the first time.
That afternoon, a guest who had booked for his father with limited mobility contacted her. Elma explained the actual conditions, refunded the payment, and helped find alternative accommodation. She then contacted the platform to remove the false ratings and published an accurate room description. Marta asked them to specify that staff hadn't written praise for themselves. Elma agreed, although she was ashamed that it needed saying at all.
Bookings briefly declined. Goran wanted to remain responsible for promotion, with her checking each post. Elma refused to become the supervisor of his decisions. They ended their business arrangement in writing and discussed their relationship separately. She didn't throw him out in the middle of the night, but she didn't promise their shared home would survive merely because they had bought the same refrigerator.
In spring, a real guest posted a brief review: tidy room, steep stairs, lovely walnut tree. She gave four stars because the pillow was too hard. Elma printed it and left it on Marta's desk. Then she ordered several softer pillows, including one for her mother. Goran came to help carry them by prior arrangement. As they worked, he didn't mention how good the scene would look in a photograph.